Big Sky Basketball power rankings: Wild 2 weeks of 2019-20 conference play

6. Sacramento State Hornets (8-4, 1-2) NET: 138

Sac State got off to a poor start in conference play, getting swept at Montana State and Montana.  The Hornets bounced back with a win at home against Idaho State 68-49.

A good non-conference schedule helps the NET ranking for the Hornets, who were picked to finish ninth in the league.  However, Sacramento State has lost its last four games on the road including the 66-51 loss in Bozeman.

6’8 senior center Joshua Patton is leading Sac State, scoring 13.7 ppg and bringing down 5.0 rpg.  Offensively, the Hornets struggle and are ranked #307 in adjusted efficiency but the defense makes up for it with a defensive effective field goal percentage ranked #10.  The Hornets guard play needs to improve, especially in hostile environments.

The Hornets need to take advantage of the next two games to move up in the standings.  Northern Arizona will come to Sacramento on Jan. 9, followed by Weber State on Jan. 11.

5. Montana State Bobcats (6-7, 2-2) NET: 214

The Bobcats started out conference play with their best performance of the season in a 66-51 win at home over Sacramento State, followed by a 63-61 win over Northern Arizona.  The next week, Montana State traveled to top-tier teams in the conference, Northern Colorado and Southern Utah, only to drop both games of the road trip.  By that victory over Sac State, I had to move the Bobcats ahead in the rankings.

Those top-tier teams noted the recipe for beating the Bobcats:  shut down Harald Frey.  The senior point guard is averaging 16.5 ppg and 4.9 apg.  However, in the two games last week, Frey averaged 9.5 ppg and 2.0 apg, while shooting 25% from beyond the arc.

Montana State’s defense slows opponents down, but they don’t manage to get the turnovers needed to win on the road.  However, the Bobcats road record should improve as they travel to Idaho on Jan. 9.